© CC WikimediaThe Dengue Fever virus in action (the cluster of dark dots near the center).
The drug goes by the name DRACO (Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizer--uh, I'll stick with the acronym) and is made using the defense mechanism of living cells. The drug reportedly attacks cells that have been infected with a virus, without harming healthy cells. DRACO attaches itself to virus-tainted cells and contains a protein that initiates a process by which the infected cells kill themselves. If DRACO encounters a healthy cell along the way, it simply waves hello and leaves it alone.
The idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to creating antiviral drugs has the potential for huge implications. Until now, drugmakers have had to design a new drug to fight each individual virus strain, and because viruses like to be sneaky and mutate often, it's been an ongoing battle to keep up with them.
"We have created DRACOs and shown that they are nontoxic in 11 mammalian cell types and effective against 15 different viruses, including dengue flavivirus, Amapari and Tacaribe arenaviruses, Guama bunyavirus, and H1N1 influenza," wrote the team from MIT's Lincoln Laboratory in their research published in the journal PLoS One. "We have also demonstrated that DRACOs can rescue mice challenged with H1N1 influenza."
© Rider et al/PLoS OneDRACOs have been found to be effective against all these viruses so far.
DRACOs have been tested on human and animal cells, and the researchers say they've observed no side effects.
Even if DRACOs live up to their revolutionary potential, it could be years before they become available to the general public. Several years of clinical trials likely await before the superdrug is ready for prime time.
Reader Comments
in some slavonic language, i believe.
«viruses have DNA genomes and typically produce long dsRNA via symmetrical transcription [4]–[5]. In contrast, uninfected mammalian cells generally do not produce long dsRNA (greater than ~21–23 base pairs) [4]–[5]. Natural cellular defenses exploit this difference in order to detect and to attempt to counter viral infections »
«In its simplest form, a DRACO is a chimeric protein with one domain that binds to viral dsRNA and a second domain (e.g., a procaspase-binding domain or a procaspase) that induces apoptosis when two or more DRACOs crosslink on the same dsRNA. If viral dsRNA is present inside a cell, DRACOs will bind to the dsRNA and induce apoptosis of that cell. If viral dsRNA is not present inside the cell, DRACOs will not crosslink and apoptosis will not occur.
For delivery into cells in vitro or in vivo, DRACOs can be fused with proven protein transduction tags, including a sequence from the HIV TAT protein [28], the related protein transduction domain 4 (PTD) [29], and polyarginine (ARG) [30]. These tags have been shown to carry large cargo molecules into both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of all cell types in vitro and in vivo, even across the blood-brain barrier.»
With an acronym like that, it's hard to overlook the implied connection (for those who are familiar with the data). Could this be the latest attempt to commit mass genocide in the name of health? It's certainly a great way to start a lot of sick rumors.
If I wanted to guarantee that a drug would have ceaseless controversy surrounding it, I would name it something like this.
The concept of how it works, as outlined in the article, seems to make sense. However, I am alarmed that we could find a way to convince a cell that it should commit suicide for the greater good of the organism! Would it really work out that way in a living body? The next step in the wrong direction is to convince a living person that he should commit suicide for the greater good of his group... Oh, you say that's already been done?